Vehicle

After teaching hundreds of students for thousands of hours, I know it is vital to make the safety features of a car first priority over a style that appeals to young people. Both parents and students can be assured that I put serious thought into picking a training car for Lake-Mendo Driving School.

Our school uses a Ford Taurus SEL. It meets the DMV requirements for instructor brake, instructor rear-view mirror, inspection by an authorized mechanic, and special driving school insurance. Our car is routinely serviced and inspected by both our local mechanic and a Ukiah Ford dealership. We carry full emergency road-side service for the car.

A review of our car:

  • Field of vision: When I was searching for a teaching car, the most important feature I sought is a good field of vision out the rear sides of the car and back window for both the student and instructor. The Taurus has excellent field of vision. A good field of vision will help you when you are learning lane changing, proper checking ofR: 135 G: 255 B: 169 X:54188 Y: 0 S: 0 Z: 54 F: 126 blind spots, and backing up. A good field of vision will aid your instructor to help keep you safe.
  • Many driving schools choose small cars for teaching, even Smart cars. I wanted the safety of a larger car such as the Taurus. Hopefully, you will not be in an accident while training, but if you are, a large vehicle offers better protection in an accident then something smaller.
  • Comfort. I previously taught for thousands of hours in small Mini Coopers and for both the student and instructor, the small cars could be physically tiring for a lesson.
  • The Taurus can comfortably accommodate students of all heights and sizes. Tall students frequently have to bend down to see traffic lights in small cars but the large windshield in the Taurus prevents this. The seat belt adjusts in height, so the problem of the belt cutting across the neck for shorter people is eliminated.
  • There are arm rests on both sides of the drivers seat allowing you to rest your elbows while doing extended driving. This helps reduce arm and hand fatigue when driving which encourages you to keep both hands on the wheel.
  • The Taurus has a large, comfortable backseat for a parent or guardian who requests to do a ride along during a lesson. When teaching in the Bay Area, I had several parents ride along. The back seat of the mini was so small they had to curl up into a ball! This is not the case for the Taurus.

After experiencing the excellent field of vision while driving the Taurus, you will have a good idea of what to look for when you go to select your own cars in the future. Practicing in larger vehicles is helpful because if you can drive something larger, then you won’t have any problems driving a smaller car. I had numerous parents who intentionally had their student drive a large truck or SUV for this reason.